Wild Life

Recent Articles

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has the go-ahead
from its board to purchased 1,598 acres of mountain land in Roanoke
County adjacent to its 7,000-acre Havens Wildlife Management Area
in the Fort Lewis Mountain region. The funding for the purchase,
known as the Dwelle Tract, will come from federal-state matching
funds contributed by outdoor sportsmen.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has been
asking hunters not to use doe urine to mask their scent or attract
a buck, because the commercially sold commodity has potential to
spread the deadly chronic wasting disease.

The coast of Virginia and North Carolina has experienced one of
the roughest winters on record, lots of snow and frigid
temperatures, yet instances of winter mortality of speckled trout
are fewer than for last year, according the Virginia Marine
Resources Commission.

The walleye population has been expanding across Virginia, and
that makes many anglers happy for at least two reasons: Walleye are
one of the first fish to become active late winter and early
spring, and they are as good to eat as any fish in freshwater.

The 22 percent drop in Virginia’s deer kill, a figure that is
worrisome to many sportsmen, might have been 30 percent were it not
for Sunday hunting being legal on private land for the first time
in modern history.

The much anticipated results of the 2014-15 deer, bear and
turkey seasons were released by the Virginia Department of Game and
Inland Fisheries this week, and seldom have the figures had more
radical swings.

The Virginia State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey
Federation will celebrate the organization’s 40th anniversary in
Roanoke Friday through Sunday, with special guest George Thornton,
CEO of the federation.

Of all the different kinds of hunters, those who pursue deer are
the most numerous and least organized. The newly formed National
Deer Alliance wants to change that. It wants to organize deer
hunters and be their voice. It wants to be to deer hunters what the
NRA is to gun owners.

The deer kill in Virginia is down 16 percent, or 20,700 animals.
The rut has been weak; the hunting pressure light; the acorn crop
heavy; the quality of bucks so-so; the number of deer spotted
disappointing.

On opening day of the muzzleloading season, Cotton Witt watched
an early morning parade of deer come down a hardwood ridge in
Bedford County to stand near the base of the tree where he had
positioned his elevated stand.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries received
nearly 500 comments from its constituents during an Aug. 1-Oct. 1
scoping period, when it requested recommendations for changes in
hunting regulations. The input is scheduled to be considered by
wildlife officials who will report back in March.

All fall, I have been receiving reports from hunters on how
abundant the acorn crop is this year, which is highly important to
the well-being of wildlife and dictates where hunters can expect to
locate game.

Youth/apprentice deer hunting day Saturday provides a glimpse of
what kind of season hunters can expect this year. The estimated
kill reported by phone and Internet was 1,804. That was down
sharply from last season’s 2,682.

Jacob Powroznik lives in the small village of Port Haywood
overlooking the west side of the Chesapeake Bay in Matthews County,
so when it comes to fishing you’d expect him to be involved in the
saltwater kind — flounder, spot, bluefish.

Some people might be surprised to know that many of Virginia’s
State Parks offer opportunities for hunting. This practice doesn’t
just provide recreation, but it is a major tool in keeping the deer
herd in check.

Through the years, I’ve told scores of people that black bears
go out of their way to avoid a confrontation with humans. They are
docile and shy and more afraid of you than you are of them. So it
is perfectly safe to go into the woods for camping, hiking and
hunting.

The Virginia Big Game Trophy Show is celebrating its 75th
anniversary next month. The event began when members of the newly
organized Virginia Peninsula Sportsman’s Association (VPSA) decided
to sponsor a trophy deer contest in 1939.

A female black bear killed in Giles County during the past
bowhunting season was 30 years old, according to biologists of the
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. That ties a
longevity record with another 30-year old female taken during the
2011 firearms season in Tazewell County.